Commonwealth Club Of California Podcast

As a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse reveals how special interest groups are using “dark money” to influence and control our courts. In 2020, Sen. Whitehouse raised these alarming concerns during the Amy Coney Barrett hearing. He asserts that a group consisting of billionaires and corporations are using their wealth and power to back appointees and nominees that will advance a right-wing agenda and policies. Hear more about these growing implications and what this ultimately means for the future of our country. SPEAKERS Sheldon Whitehouse U.S. Senator (D-RI); Author, The Scheme: How the Right Wing Used Dark Money to Capture the Supreme Court; Twitter @SenWhitehouse In Conversation with Melissa Caen Political Analyst; Attorney In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on November 7th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your

Climate One has been at this year's UN climate summit, COP27, where one of the issues at the forefront of the conversation has been “loss and damage” – the idea that rich countries who have historically emitted the vast majority of climate-disrupting pollution should have to pay for the resulting suffering borne by those least responsible for the problem. At the same time, the whole world needs to drastically reduce its emissions and transition to clean energy – and that costs money, too. When even wealthy countries struggle to meet self imposed goals to cut down on carbon pollution, how can developing countries, who are already suffering the effects of the climate crisis, fund their own moves to clean energy? Guests:  Bogolo Joy Kenewendo, UN Climate Change High-Level Champions’ Special Advisor, Africa Director Arunabha Ghosh, CEO, Council on Energy, Environment and Water Alastair Marsh, Reporter, Bloomberg Johnson Cerda, DGM Global Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As America faces another election as a deeply divided country, Steve Phillips has strong views on what the United States needs to do to strengthen its multiracial democracy. For Phillips, understanding why the country is so divided requires recognizing that many of our divisions are historic in nature, resulting in a contest between democracy and white supremacy that is still left unresolved after the Civil War.  In his new book, How We Win the Civil War, Phillips pulls no punches on what he thinks the country must do to bridge its divides, particularly around issues related to race. Phillips advocates for increasing voter participation, ending what he says are racist immigration policies, and reviving the Great Society programs of the 1960s—all of them geared toward strengthening a new multiracial democracy and ridding our politics of white supremacy. Join us for a powerful conversation on race, history, politics and finally overcoming our divisions. SPEAKERS Steve Phillips Podcast Host, Founder, "Democracy

For Leslie Absher, secrecy is just another member of the family. Throughout childhood, her father's shadowy government job was ill-defined, her mother's mental health stayed off limits—even her queer identity remained hidden from her family and unacknowledged by Leslie herself. In Spy Daughter, Queer Girl, Absher pursues the truth: of her family, her identity, and her father's role in Greece's CIA-backed junta. As a guide, Absher brings readers to the shade of plane trees in Greece, to queer discos in Boston, and to tense diner meals with her aging CIA father. As a memoirist, Absher renders a lifetime of hazy, shapeshifting truths in high-definition vibrance. Infused with a journalist's tenacity and a daughter's open heart, this book recounts a decades' long process of discovery and the reason why the facts should matter to us all. About the SpeakerLeslie Absher is a journalist and personal essay writer. Her work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Huffington Post, Salon, Ms., Greek Reporter, and San Franc

Providing nutritious, safe and affordable food in the face of the Earth’s changing climate is an urgent global challenge. How can we produce enough food for everyone at the same time as improving our relationship with our environment? And can what we eat contribute to a more sustainable future for communities on the West Coast, across North America and around the world? Join the conversation with Peter Dhillon, chairman of Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc., and Steve Banwart, dean for global development at the University of Leeds, as they explore how we begin to tackle the tensions between climate change and food supply. They’ll discuss how fostering closer collaboration and partnership between researchers, food producers, policymakers, communities and businesses worldwide will help us find pathways toward a radically different global food system—one that works with nature and adapts to our changing climate. They’ll also delve into how we challenge assumptions to break new ground in developing climate-smart, socia

What are the issues and opportunities for cities as autonomous vehicles hit the road? How can we plan for and accommodate new forms of transport and smart city infrastructure that serves the public good? Join us on November 7 as a part of the 6th international Autonomous Vehicles and the City symposium. We will feature international discussions on the different ways that new platforms are being used to serve diverse populations and help global cities meet climate goals. Join conversations with leaders from the following organizations and more: Motional, Nissan, Aurora, Smartcar, San Francisco County Transportation Authority, Cruise, Zoox, and Populus. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on November 7th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us to explore the history of how, where and why we bury our dead. Melville will take us on a lively, wide-ranging tour of the history of famous American cemeteries—places that have mirrored passing eras but have also shaped them. Cemeteries gave birth to landscape architecture and famous parks, as well as influenced architectural styles. They’ve inspired and motivated some of our greatest poets and authors—Emerson, Whitman, Dickinson. They’ve also been used as political tools to shift the country’s discourse and as important symbols of the United States's ambition and geographical reach. But cemeteries are changing and starting to fade away in the 21st century. Burying embalmed bodies is incredibly toxic, and although cremations are now even more popular than burials, they’re not great for the environment either.  A summer job cutting grass at his hometown cemetery inspired Melville to explore every issue surrounding cemeteries—history, sustainability, land use, and more—but above all to think about what

The 27th UN convention on climate change, known as COP27, is now underway in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. When Climate One spoke with Egyptian Ambassador Wael Aboulmagd in October, he argued that progress at this year’s summit would be more rapid than in past years, because this year, the focus is on implementation rather than negotiation. And for the first time, loss and damage — what richer nations owe poorer ones for the climate impacts their emissions have caused — is on the agenda. How will these issues play out during the conference? Are countries increasing their ambition as promised, and keeping the goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees alive? Climate One brings us interviews with those on the ground pushing for meaningful change in Egypt. Guests: Preety Bhandari, Senior Advisor, Global Climate Program and the Finance Center, World Resources Institute Claire Stockwell, Senior Climate Policy Analyst, Climate Analytics David Munene, Programs Manager, Catholic Youth Network for Environmental Sustainability

During the depths of the pandemic, one of the most important companies in America was Grubhub. The online food delivery service was a lifesaver for residents sheltering in place and for restaurants struggling to make revenue. But where did this company come from? The story of how Grubhub was founded and what its founder, Mike Evans, learned along the way is a story important for anyone who cares about our new tech economy, particularly in the Bay Area, and what it is doing to those who start these companies. In his new memoir, Hangry: A Startup Journey, Evans reveals the inside story of how a pizza craving turned into a hobby, and then became a business that ultimately grew into a multi-billion dollar behemoth that changed the way we eat across the country. Evans story is an interesting one with lessons for entrepreneurs of all kinds. He learned on the fly as he grew a massive business from his apartment. Along the way, he worked 80-hour weeks, almost lost his marriage, raised hundreds of millions of dollars,

After two and a half years of struggle, San Francisco's downtown stands at a crossroads. Employees have increasingly returned to offices—with overall attendance at offices reaching 50 percent on some days—streets are busier, tourism is increasing, and corporations have returned to hosting major events and attending conventions in and around the Moscone Center. Yet is it enough to return San Francisco's financial center to the heights of the activity it experienced pre-pandemic? This program will seek to answer these questions and explore what city leaders are doing to enliven and boost activity in San Francisco's downtown core. In its first program on this important topic, The Commonwealth Club has invited key San Francisco stakeholders with a direct stake in addressing the problems to discuss practical and tangible solutions to continue to bring downtown San Francisco back to life. The program will look at the Downtown SF Partnership's new public realm plan, the efforts of San Francisco's Office of Economic

Long a fringe part of the American political landscape, conspiracy theories are now mainstream: 147 members of Congress voted in favor of objections to the 2020 presidential election based on an unproven theory about a rigged electoral process promoted, in part, by followers of the mysterious QAnon community, itself a network of believers of a wide-ranging conspiracy involving pedophilia among elected officials and other civic and business leaders. But these are only the latest examples of a long history of conspiracies that have gained adherents in society. In his timely new book, Conspiracy, Michael Shermer, founding publisher of Skeptic magazine, discusses what makes conspiracies so appealing to segments of the population. Shermer finds that conspiracy theories cut across gender, age, race, income, education level, occupational status―and even political affiliation. One reason that people believe these conspiracies, Shermer argues, is that enough of them are real that we should be constructively conspirato

Financial Times columnist and CNN global economic analyst Rana Foroohar offers a deep look at the vulnerabilities of globalization. She makes the case that the reign of globalization as we’ve known it is over and the rise of local, regional and homegrown business is now at hand. She says that for decades, the neoliberal economic philosophy of prioritizing efficiency over resilience and profits over local prosperity has produced massive inequality, persistent economic insecurity, and distrust in our institutions. Place-based economics and a wave of technological innovations now make it possible to keep operations, investment and wealth closer to home, wherever that may be. With the pendulum of history swinging back, Foroohar explores both the challenges and the possibilities of this new era, and how she says it can usher in a more equitable and prosperous future. NOTES This program is generously supported by the Jackson Square Partners Foundation. SPEAKERS Rana Foroohar Global Business Columnist and Associate

In the 1970s, the United States faced stagflation: high rates of inflation combined with stagnant employment and growth. Global economist Nouriel Roubini predicts we are heading toward another Great Stagflation that will be difficult to recover from. Is it too late to avoid this economic catastrophe? Financial and geopolitical certainties that we once took for granted have disappeared, and Roubini says we are now facing a period of severe instability, conflict and chaos. He offers a sobering analysis of 10 "megathreats" that are interconnected, immense in scale, and bearing down on us. Hear more as Roubini predicts what is likely to unfold if we don’t reverse course and act now. SPEAKERS Nouriel Roubini Professor of Economics, New York University’s Stern School of Business; Author, MegaThreats: Ten Dangerous Trends That Imperil Our Future, And How to Survive Them; Twitter @Nouriel In Conversation with Barry Eichengreen George C. Pardee and Helen N. Pardee Professor of Economics and Political Science, Universi

It’s been a big year for U.S. climate policy. Three major pieces of legislation: the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act have all become law, ushering in the largest commitment of federal money toward the climate crisis to date. In a bipartisan vote, the Senate also finally ratified the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, which will help phase out some of the most potent greenhouse gasses. Gina McCarthy has helped shepherd these achievements in her former role as White House Climate Advisor, and joins us to discuss her time leading climate action under President Biden.  We also feature a special interview about the Biden administration’s climate priorities between Vice President Kamala Harris and the hosts of the podcast A Matter of Degrees, Katharine Wilkinson and Leah Stokes. Guests:  Kamala Harris, Vice President, United States Gina McCarthy, former U.S. White House National Climate Advisor, former U.S. EPA Administrator Guest Hosts: Katharine

This November, San Francisco voters are being asked to vote on a number of ballot measures, local and statewide. One of those local measures is Proposition D, which aims to spur the development of affordable housing in a city that was recognized by the state government as having "the longest timelines in the state for advancing housing projects, . . . among the highest housing and construction costs, and [the state] has received more complaints about San Francisco than any other local jurisdiction." To discuss Proposition D and its plan for removing bureaucratic roadblocks, we'll hear from Maureen Sedonaen, the CEO of Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco, and State Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco). Join us in-person or online for a timely program to help you decide what choices you want to make when you fill out your ballot. NOTES See more  Michelle Meow Show programs at The Commonwealth Club of California. SPEAKERS Maureen Sedonaen CEO, Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco Scott Wiener Stat

In his new book Bridge to the Sun coming out on September 27, 2022, Bruce Henderson, master storyteller, historian and New York Times best-selling author, tells a gripping true tale of the courage of the Japanese-American U.S. Army soldiers who fought in the Pacific theater, while many of their families back home in America were incarcerated behind barbed wire in camps by the U.S. government. Their contribution is one of the last, great untold stories of World War II, kept hidden for decades. The story of the larger, all-Japanese-American 442nd Regimental Combat Team soldiers who were sent to fight in Europe has been covered in many books and media. After Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. military was desperate to find Americans who spoke Japanese to serve in the secret Military Intelligence Service (MIS) in the Pacific war. They soon turned to the Nisei—first-generation U.S. citizens whose parents were immigrants from Japan. Eager to prove their loyalty to America, several thousand Nisei—many

With the recent appointments of Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, the balance on the U.S. Supreme Court has shifted fundamentally toward the conservatives, and a series of precedent-breaking decisions issued during the 2022 session confirms it. The implications of the Dodd decision alone are far reaching for individual rights, not to mention those cases that focus on the government’s ability to regulate policy in areas like immigration, the environment, the separation of church and state, and gun safety. In many respects, the court majority's ideological shift to an originalist approach to constitutional interpretation has upset the balance of power and redrawn the traditional lines separating the three branches of government in our democracy.   As the court opens its fall session, Dean Chemerinsky will discuss the new justices and these recent decisions as well as upcoming cases before the court which address critical issues like affirmative action and the independence of state legislature

Ruha Benjamin has been called one of the country's most insightful scholars on issues related to race, technology and justice. In her new book, Viral Justice, Benjamin explores—in a very personal way—two social issues that have received extensive attention over the past two years: police violence and the pandemic of COVID-19. For Prof. Benjamin, these two issues existed in tandem for a reason: they are both public health crises that festered and continue to fester because they are both built on unjust systems. Benjamin examines the converging plagues of COVID-19 and police violence, mapping the multiple routes through which racism gets under the skin. Recounting her personal experiences and those of her family, Benjamin illuminates the devastating impact of the chronic stress of racism, the trauma caused by mass imprisonment, and the vast inequities of our nation’s health-care system. As she channels her own life story, she also offers a passionate, inspiring, and practical vision of how seemingly minor decis

In a democracy, meaningful change often requires adapting views and building coalitions. Some believe finding common ground and building rapport is the best way to change minds. Others believe activism and protests are key to raising awareness. Increasingly, however, the acts of listening and persuasion are left out, as each side is convinced that the other is unmovable.  Anand Giridharadas is a journalist, columnist, on-air political analyst, and author. His latest book, The Persuaders: At the Front Lines of the Fight for Hearts, Minds, and Democracy, explores how the tactics of persuasion can help strengthen democracy and foster positive societal change. Guests: Anand Giridharadas, Journalist, Author, The Persuaders: At the Front Lines of the Fight for Hearts, Minds, and Democracy For show notes and related links, visit https://www.climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Reza Aslan is a leading expert in world religions and his bestselling books have touched on a range of issues related to history, extremism and spirituality. His latest work, An American Martyr in Persia, challenges us to look at how seriously we take our ideals of constitutional democracy and whose freedom do we support. Aslan illuminates these issues by exploring the real-story of Howard Baskerville, a 22-year-old Christian missionary from South Dakota who traveled to Persia (modern-day Iran) in 1907 for a two-year stint teaching English and preaching the gospel. Baskerville arrived in the midst of a democratic revolution led by a group of brilliant young firebrands committed to transforming their country into a fully self-determining, constitutional monarchy, one with free elections and an independent parliament. In death, Baskerville became a martyr who spurred the revolutionaries to remove the shah from power, signing a new constitution and rebuilding parliament in Tehran. At this critical time when many